Chapter 323: Universal’s Troubles

Chapter 323: Chapter 323: Universal’s Troubles

While Irene’s Echo Pictures was methodically advancing the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean 2, copyright organization, and Marvel layout in their new office area, the high-level conference room of Universal Pictures was permeated with a heavy atmosphere of anxiety.

Alan Gray slammed the Van Helsing project progress report onto the table, papers scattering everywhere, his voice full of suppressed rage: "It’s been three months! Casting, location scouting, special effects—not a single item is moving according to plan?"

Van Helsing was originally a "monster blockbuster" that Universal had high hopes for. Since deciding to fast-track the project to snatch Irene’s monster universe concept, it had been forcibly put on the agenda.

But behind the eagerness for success was layer upon layer of trouble.

First was the ongoing casting deadlock.

Alan Gray was bent on replicating the success of The Mummy and had thought of inviting Brendan Fraser to play the lead, Van Helsing, but was politely declined by the other party on the grounds of "repetitive role and chaotic script logic."

After that, they remembered Leonardo DiCaprio, whom Irene wanted to collaborate with, but he rejected them without hesitation. After all, this collaboration was originally a smoke screen released unilaterally by Irene, and for the past few years, Leonardo’s mind has been entirely on aiming for the Oscars. How could he possibly come out to star in a commercial film like this?

Then they settled for the next best thing and contacted other A-list action stars, who either asked for exorbitant prices or worried that the film’s quality would affect their reputations, making various excuses to decline.

Finally, Universal executives used their connections to secure Hugh Jackman for the lead role of Van Helsing, though the price paid was not small.

The confirmation of the male lead made Universal think the hardships were over, but the selection of actors for the three major monsters was even more fraught with twists and turns.

The original candidate for the vampire lord Count Dracula quit unexpectedly due to dissatisfaction with the "thin role and stereotypical image". More than twenty people auditioned for the werewolf role, but they either lacked a wild aura or had insufficient foundation for action scenes. The special effects makeup requirements for Frankenstein’s Monster were extremely high, and multiple actors auditioned without reaching the desired effect.

But Hollywood never lacks actors, especially when they can play a role in a blockbuster with an investment of over 100 million dollars. This is also a good credential for their future acting careers.

With this attitude, a steady stream of people still participated in the casting.

The casting director reported under pressure: "Alan, currently only the actor for Frankenstein’s Monster has been tentatively confirmed. The vampire and werewolf are still being screened. It’s very difficult to find perfectly fitting candidates in the short term. Perhaps we could relax some standards?"

The luxury lineup Alan Gray wanted was destined to be unachievable, and he was forced to accept auditions from actors below the third tier.

The casting dilemma was easy to solve if standards were lowered, but the scope for location scouting was much narrower.

The script for Van Helsing required a large number of Gothic castles, Eastern European forests, and wilderness ruins. Alan Gray requested "on-location shooting + post-production compositing" to strive for visual impact.

But after the team inspected more than ten castles in Europe, they were either prohibited from large-scale filming due to cultural relic protection or the rental fees far exceeded the budget. The forest locations in Eastern Europe were hit by continuous heavy rain, making the roads too muddy to set up studios. The original wilderness ruin scenes were put on hold because the local government suddenly issued environmental policies banning blasting and the construction of temporary structures.

After that, they thought of The Lord of the Rings and decided to go to Australia for location scouting. Fortunately, the forests there were indeed well-preserved, and the weather changes were not as unpredictable as in Eastern Europe, but the situation with the castles still couldn’t be finalized.

And the above situations weren’t even the most troublesome. What made Universal’s high-level executives break down most was the fatal weakness of the special effects team.

Universal internally knew that the core competitiveness of the monster genre lay in special effects. After all, the transformations and fights of various monsters required a lot of special effects support. Therefore, they targeted the industry-leading Industrial Light & Magic from the beginning.

But when Universal’s negotiation team came knocking, they were doused with cold water. Industrial Light & Magic’s core special effects team had already been booked for the entire year by Pirates of the Caribbean 2, specifically responsible for the core special effects such as the crew transformations of the Flying Dutchman and sea battle scenes, leaving them with no time to attend to other projects.

"Echo Pictures negotiated a cooperation with us as early as a year ago, and the project timeline was planned very clearly. We have signed a contract. It’s impossible to break it on short notice," the head of Industrial Light & Magic said bluntly.

On one side was Universal, and on the other were Fox + Disney + Echo Pictures. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t want to offend either, but there’s only one top-tier team. Whoever moves faster naturally gets the service.

Helpless, Universal could only settle for the next best thing and chose another special effects company introduced by an acquaintance.

But once the first batch of dailies came out, everyone was dumbfounded.

The vampire’s bat swarm effects moved like black paper scraps, the texture of the werewolf’s transformation hair was as stiff as plastic, and Frankenstein’s Monster’s stitched scars looked cheap and fake, a far cry from the "epic special effects" Alan Gray had expected.

He smashed the computer in front of the special effects team: "This is what you spent two months making? It’s not even as good as The Mummy from ten years ago!"

The special effects company was also full of grievances: "Universal requested the completion of six months’ worth of work in three months and refused to increase the budget. We simply cannot reach the level of Industrial Light & Magic."

In desperation, they chose Industrial Light & Magic’s second-tier team. At least their technology is shared with the first-tier team, and although the skill levels vary, there is a lot of experience from Pirates of the Caribbean 1 to refer to.

But as a result, the originally estimated $50 million special effects budget exceeded $35 million in just three months and was still increasing—and this was just the beginning. The movie hadn’t even officially started filming.

The board of directors sent two inquiry emails in succession after learning of this, demanding an explanation for the project delays and budget overruns.

Alan Gray was overwhelmed, forcing the casting team to finalize the leads within a week, ordering the location scouting group to switch to studio filming, and constantly urging Industrial Light & Magic to submit proposals, but chaotic instructions only made the project more out of control.

"Alan, news has come from Echo Pictures that the preparatory work for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 has been completed. They will conduct pre-production studio filming in Los Angeles and are expected to go to the Caribbean Sea in June or July. Their official Facebook has also been continuously updating with news. Both the character looks and the pirate ship designs are progressing very smoothly," Richard White reported cautiously, his tone carrying an unmistakable sense of frustration.

He had long since lost the secret joy of rushing a blockbuster, leaving only the fear of project failure.

Alan Gray looked up suddenly, a trace of resentment flashing in his eyes: "It’s Irene Coppola again! If she hadn’t snatched the Industrial Light & Magic team, how could our special effects be in such a pathetic state!"

But he forgot that it was his own haste to jump into the race that led him to force a green light before the script was even polished. His current predicament was merely reaping what he had sown.

Meanwhile, at Echo Pictures, Irene was in a video conference with the special effects supervisor from Industrial Light & Magic, confirming the details of Davy Jones’s octopus face special effects.

"The current results are very good. The wrinkles around the eyes and the movement of the tentacles are very natural. We can arrange for the actor to do a makeup test next week," the special effects supervisor said confidently.

Irene nodded in response: "Thank you for your hard work. Be sure to ensure that every detail can stand up to scrutiny. What we want to make is not a short-term hit, but a classic that can be passed down."

After hanging up, Robert walked into the office and handed over a document with a smile: "Universal’s Van Helsing is already a total mess. Casting, location scouting, and special effects have all run into problems, the budget is overspent by nearly 50%, and the board has already started holding Alan Gray accountable."

Irene took the document and scanned it quickly, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth: "Eagerness for quick success is destined to not go far."

She put down the document and turned her gaze back to the shooting schedule for Pirates of the Caribbean 2. "Notify the crew that filming officially starts in ten days. Time waits for no one. There’s no need for us to put our energy into those irrelevant matters anymore."